Trust Me
by Let's Read My Notebook
Summary: Claire Winters was just a normal woman... only she wasn't. She was a mutant. I decided to make my O.C. an X-Men because they're awesome. BrucexO.C. Read and Review, please.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I've been working on this for a while and I like to think it's good. Please tell me if you think otherwise. Um, a few things about my O.C. She used to work for SHIELD- this doesn't matter other than she already knows Coulson, Widow, and Fury- and she can do more than phase through things, but we learn more in chapter two. Enjoy.**

****TATATATATA

Claire had been having a pretty crappy day. She woke up an hour late, had her editor up her ass for _being _so late, spilled things- plural-, came home to see her dog-watcher had left early and her fat, mini-Dachshund Poppy had made a nest of pillows and shredded papers. After cleaning that up and telling the dog that she should know better, Claire poured a bowl of cearal, only to find that there was no milk in the house. Irritated, she put Poppy in her kennel and went to the store, picking up a gallon of milk and a bottle of .

Finally, she pulled into her driveway and got out, locking the car behind heard a car door slam somewhere behind her and wouldn't have thought anything of it, if not for the "Miss Winters?" that followed. '_Oh, dammit,_' she thought, speeding up and wondering why she had such a big front yard. No one- that she wanted to see, at least- called her that.

Her eyes flew to the street, where a black suburban was parked across from her house. "Miss Winters?" the same man from before asked. She knew his voice from her brief stint in SHIELD. Without a second thought, she turned and ran for her front door.

"Stop her," the man said calmly, just as two large arms encircled her waist. It would have overpowered someone _normal_ of her short height, but she just phased through them and kept going. Her dark hair started spilling out of her bun, and a surprised voice, deeper than the first, muttered,"Damn."

"Claire, stop. We need to speak to you." Claire made it to her front door and pressed her back against it, ready to phase through in a second. Slowly, she raised her head, studing the four men in front of her. Two had their guns out, one- probably the one who tried to catch her- was staring at her funny, and one looking untroubled by what just happened.

"I turned in my SHIELD crap a while ago," Claire said, straighting up and looking the calm agent in the eye. "I'm retired."

The agent smirked at that, but pressed on. "Please, we need to speak with you."

"'Bout what?" Claire asked, not caring that she sounded like a five-year-old.

"The Avengers Initiative," the agent said. "You were personally requested by Director Fury." Claire remembered last fall, when Nick Fury had approached her in a nearby bookstore and handed her a manila folder with info about the Avengers.

She gave a short laugh and muttered,"You guys are persistent." She raised her voice. "I told Nick I'd think about it."

"Well, now is the time to decide." The agent stuck his hand in his jacket and pulled out a folder. He walked up to her, holding it out, and she gingerly took it, flipping it open. She was met with a slightly blurry photo of a thin man with long, black hair and grey-blue eyes. He was dressed in some green and black get-up and was holding a golden baton with a blue, glowing thing at the end.

"Who is he?" Claire asked, accidently slipping into 'Agent' mode.

"He said his name is Loki-" Claire raised an eyebrow, but left it alone."- He's taken two agents and one Dr. Selvig, as well as leveled one of our research facilities.

Claire sighed heavily and ran a hand down her face, slumping her shoulders. "Well, in that case," she said, sounding resigned. "I gotta let you in, don't I, Phil?"

TA

Claire's house wasn't very big, seeing as it was just her, but it was colorful, Phil noticed. It had a slight boho feeling to it and was quiet and welcoming. It fit the personality he knew Claire had from their short partnership in SHIELD.

The agents stood awkwardly in Claire's living room, while she was in the kitchen and her small dog sniffed their legs. Phil watched it for a second before it seemed to decide they were okay and toddled off.

Claire came back into the room and chuckled. "You can sit down, ya know," she said, taking a seat near the window and putting the tray she got from the kitchen on the coffee table. Phil walked over to sit across from her, while the rest stayed put. He glanced at what was on the tray she'd brought and took one of the glasses of iced tea. He turned back to see her hazel eyes flit across his face in a way that always made him feel like he was being studied.

Claire watched Phil for a moment, waiting for him to speak, so when he didn't, she asked,"So... if I join the Avengers, what would be... asked of me?" She watched Phil pull another folder from his jacket- how they weren't smushed, she had no idea- and held it out to her. She raised a brow and took it, flipping it open. A satellite photo of a big, green thing was the first thing in it.

"Is that...?" she trailed off, tilting her head at the folder before looking at Phil. '_He can't be serious, can he?_' Of course, she'd make it out alive, but if he Hulked out, it'd hurt like hell.

"Yes, that's a photo of the Hulk. His whole portfolio is in there. If you decide to join the Avengers, your assignment would be to collect him."

Claire flared a bit at that. "Collect him? He's a person, Phil. Not a trading card."

"That's not what-" He sighed "- Sorry."

She clenched her jaw lightly and flipped through the folder. There weren't many pictures of the un-Hulked doc, nor was there much on his personality. She was in the middle of squinting at a blurred photo of Bruce as a human, when someone cleared their throat. She looked to Phil. "What?"

"You're the farthest out, which is why I chose to pick you up first. I still need Stark to agree, so what's your choice?" he asked.

Claire blinked, her eyes widening. "Stark? As in _Tony _Stark? Iron Man?" she questioned excitedly. Phil gave a small nod, his always barely there smile widening a little. She smirked for just second before sighing and leaning back. Pinching her nose, she quickly went over the obvious pros and cons in her head.

"Fine. Yes, I'll join," she muttered, caving. She dropped her hand to see Phil smirking lightly. "Oh, shut up, you!" she said, standing up.

Phil did the same and said,"Better start packing. The flight to India in kind of long." Claire's mouth fell open.

"India?"

"Yes," Phil replied. "It was on page two." Claire snapped her mouth closed, knowing she probably looked stupid, but she had been focused on finding a picture of the doc as himself.

"Right. Well.. I'll just call my sister and we'll be good to go."

TA

Claire was packed into the SHIELD car and Poppy was on her way to Claire's sister's house. Claire sat in the back, in between Nameless Agents One and Two, while Phil sat on the passenger side and Nameless Agent Three drove.

"I thought I called shotgun," she stated, leaning in between the front seats. N.A. One chuckled on her left, but she watched Phil, who ignored her. "Ya know the closest airport is in Dallas, right? That's a two hour drive." Phil's hint of a smile widened a bit.

"Yes, but the closest helipad is on the hospital downtown."

Claire's eyes widened. "Helipad? Like, for helicopters?" she asked the two most obvious questions ever.

Phil gave a small nod. "You'll be flown from here to the airport, then from there to India. Your things will be taken to the Helicarrier." She frowned, thinking of the overnight bag and small suitcase she had packed.

"All of it?"

Phil glanced at her. "You'll be taking the small one with you," he replied as N.A Three pulled out of Claire's neighborhood and into traffic. Claire, who had grown used to Phil's short, but informed way of talking, leaned back against her seat and tried not to feel uncomfortable smushed between the agents.

Maybe six minutes passed before Phil said,"He's a nice guy. Very humble. You two should get along well." Claire's eyes had slid closed, but she cracked one and smiled lightly. "Mm-hmm," she hummed in agreement.

TA

The small girl Dr. Banner was following led her right outside of town, to a small shack of a house. The moment he stepped in, he knew something was wrong. There was no coughing father or family of any kind. In fact, the second he came in, the little girl hopped out the window in the room across from him.

"Should have got paid up front, Banner," he muttered to himself, his shoulders slumping a bit.

"Yeah, you should have," a voice from behind him agreed. Bruce turned on his heel to see a woman sitting at the tiny kitchen table, wrapping a pair of earbuds around her iPod before storing it in her pocket. Her eyes, previously focused on her task, darted up to meet his and he got the feeling of being sized up.

Then again, he was doing the same to her. She was brunette, short with long-ish hair and a young face. She was dressed in dark jeans, a black v-neck shirt, a brown leather jacket, and a beat-up pair of red converse, along a few of what looked like hand- or custom-made jewlery pieces.

She gave a small, awkward smile. "Hope you don't mind. Thought I'd listen to some music while I waited."

"Who are you?" he asked, ignoring her words. She nodded like expected the question, standing and hesitantly walking closer to him.

"My name is Claire Winters," she said, holding out here hand. He didn't take it, so she let it awkwardly drop to her side.

"Brought me to the edge of town, huh? Smart." He saw a look of... was it hurt? Or just confusion... cross her face for just a second before she composed herself. "I, uh.. assume the whole place is surrounded?"

She frowned at that, muttering," And Phil said you were nice." She raised her volume. "Actually, I'm a big girl. I can use a stove, flush the toilet, take on the Hulk... read."

Bruce kind of smirked. "So, I'm supposed to believe that you're here all by yourself?"

"Of course not," Claire replied, laughing a little. "Like SHIELD would allow that. But I did ask for as little as possible." Claire noticed the doctor's face lost some of the mirth it had at the mention of SHIELD.

"So, that's who sent you? How'd they find me?" he questioned.

"According to your file, they never lost you." Claire gestured to the she'd been sitting at. "You wanna sit?" she asked, taking the seat she had abandoned.

"I'll stand, thank you."

She shrugged. "Your choice." Reaching into her jacket's inner-pocket, she pulled out her phone, though she didn't miss Dr. Banner tensing. Giving him a small grin, Claire muttered,"I don't need a weapon to take you on, doc." He raised his brows, but stayed quiet, while she scrolled through her photos, pulling up the one Fury sent her.

"This is the Tesseract. It is a potential global threat," she told him, holding out her phone for him.

"Well, those I actively try to avoid," he replied, slipping on his glasses and taking her phone.

"That thing has enough energy to wipe out the planet," Claire explained, leaning on her elbows and studying the doctor. He was slightly stocky, but still taller than her, with dark and a little grey curls and dark brown eyes. His lips were full, but in a masculine way and had a natural rosy tinting to them.

'_Yes, Claire, because noticing how attractive he is will somehow make you _less _awkward,_' she chided herself.

"What does Fury want me to do? Swollow it?" Claire chuckled, taking back her phone. "Actually, I think we need you to find it, not ingest it. I believe it was stolen. It gives off a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. No one knows gamma radiation like you... If they did, I'd probably be there."

Dr. Banner looked at her knowingly, but his eyes were just the tiniest bit confused. "So, Fury's not after the monster?"

"Not that I know of."

"And you know everything?"

"I know a lot," she replied in the same condesending tone. They glared at each other for a second before Claire took a deep breath through her nose, reminding herself it was imprerative to keep Banner calm. "Look, trust me-"

"Trust you!" he shouted, his hands slamming down on the table. His sudden change surprised Claire as she jumped and glared at her. Insantly, the part of her that wanted to keep this quiet shut up.

"Yes, trust me. I can understand-"

"Understand? What, does Fury want to put you in a cage, too?" he shot back between deep breaths.

"Even if he wanted to, he couldn't!" Claire said, standing and walking stright to him.

Through the table.

TATATATATA

**How was that? Please tell me what you think and I'll probably update day after tomorrow. Bye.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I'm sorry for the wait, I really meant to post sooner, but I got poison ivy and other excuses. Also, I made this extra long to make up for it, so don't expect this length on all the chaps. Enjoy.**

****TATATATATA

Bruce froze, even the other guy stilling, at the sight of the woman directly in front of him. Not 'walked around the table to stand in front of him', but ' th table passed through her lower body'. "H-how did you do that?" he muttered, moving around her to press his hands flat against the table, testing it.

"I spent ages thirteen to twenty at the X-Mansion," she replied simply. Bruce's head whipped towards her.

"So, you're a..." he trailed off, not wanting to offend her.

"A mutant, yeah," she said, obviously calmer now that he was. Taking a look at his face, Claire softened her tone. "Hope that doesn't freak you out too much."

Bruce let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "No, it takes a little more than that to freak _me_ out... Can you do anything else?" he asked after a moment.

"Uh, yeah. That's sorta my thing... but we're getting off track," Claire said, glad to have kept the Hulk inside. That's why returning to this topic made her wary. "Will you help us?" she asked, wanting to just rip off the band-aid. Dr. Banner leaned back, seeming uncomfortable with her all of a sudden. Claire took a deep breath and moved to put her hand on his forearm. Banner seemed to flinch the slightest bit, but she didn't move.

"Dr. Banner, I won't let them put you in a cage." Now, she could have just screwed _everything_ with that sentence... or it could've been exactly what he needed to hear to convince him. Either way, something was gonna happen.

She felt him start to shake- just little movements- under her hand and his eyes slid closed. Claire dropped her arm and gave him twenty seconds to calm down before she was gonna pull another party trick. She made it to sixteen when he opened his eyes and blinked at her.

"Fine, I'll come with you."

TA

Last night had been awkward. Claire had to explain to they weren't leaving until the morning- way too _early_ in the morning, if you ask her- so they spent a night in India, then shipped out around six-in-the-morning. They were sitting in the weird, mini-Helicarrier when Claire shot another glance over to Banner, who was staring out the pilot windows, and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, pulling her hair into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. He looked over at her, raising his eyebrows. "For what?"

Claire sighed again. "You haven't had a.. 'breakout' in over a year and I know that this-" She gestured around them"- is a risk, and, Dr. Banner, I'm sorry I was the one who brought you back." She rubbed the back of her hand, waiting for his reaction.

He narrowed his eyes at her and she felt like she was being studied. "You've been thinking about this all night, haven't you?" he asked in a matter-of-fact tone. Claire nodded meekly. The good doctor grinned faintly at her. "I'm sure that if you gotten me, someone else would've, so don't worry about that. As for the other guy.. I'm sure SHIELD has him covered." He turned back to the windows, his grin slipping off, and a feeling of guilt settled in Claire's chest.

She couldn't tell if he was... not angry, per say- it was pretty obvious when he was- but if he was upset with her. Thinking a way out of the growing awkwardness, she suddenly said,"I can breathe underwater."

Banner, along with the agent next to her and maybe the pilot, looked at her, Banner and the pilot with confusion, while the agent had a more '_Why do I get the freaks?_' look.

"What?" Banner asked, blinking at Claire.

"Yep," she replied, not really knowing where to go with this. "At the moment, I can't drown."

"At the moment?" he asked, unconsciously leaning forward.

"You caught that?" Claire chuckled, nodding. "Um, yeah." When that answer didm't take his questioning gaze off her, all she said was,"I'll explain better later. We're here." Just as she finished talking, the vehicle they were in landed and they had to wait a second to get the clear to un-buckle.

The combination of belts and clips were complicated, so instead of fighting with it, she studied the agent next to her closely, then she copied his exact movements, freeing herself. Smiling victoriously, she stood and looked at Dr. Banner, who was fighting with the seatbelt and growing obviously frustrated. In an effort to keep Mr. Hyde from busting out, Claire leaned over and copied her earlier motions.

Dr. Banner leaned away from her and narrowed his eyes at her hands. After a moment, the buckles fell open and Claire moved away, giving him space to stand. He did and nodded thanks to her, which she shrugged off like it was nothing.

The agent looked between the two before saying,"If your moment's over, this way." Claire's eyes widened as he led them to the back of the carrier while it was lowered. He led them out, walking off and dissappearing. Claire's eyes slid to Banner, who seemed unfazed by the agent's departure.

"So, which way?" he asked over the noise of the jet engines.

Claire shrugged, frowning. "Don't know. I've never been here. I only ever worked in a ground base and that was about.. two years ago."

Banner furrowed his brows at her. "You mean you don't work for SHIELD?"

"I'm currently under their employment, but usually, no, I don't," she replied, rolling her lips together. "Let's go this way." She pointed to where a huge, blonde guy dressed in slightly dated clothes and Agent Natasha Romanoff were coming closer.

Claire grinned at the redhead, who smirked back. She and Natasha had been friends during Claire's time at SHIELD- since Nat had to train her- and they had devolped an oddly sister-like relationship, in which Claire said she was the geeky one and Nat was the pretty cheerleader who also boxed.

Dodging a small troop of training agents, Claire and Banner moved towards the pair. The jolly vintage giant stuck his hand out to the doctor. "Dr. Banner."

"Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you were coming," Banner replied, shaking the guy's hand. The man was looking more and more familiar to Claire, who narrowed her eyes at him.

"Word is you can find the cube," the blonde said, smiling at Bruce, who sent a glance to Claire.

"Is that the only word on me?" he asked, dropping his hand.

"The only word I care about," the blonde answered, turning to Claire and taking the hand she stuck out. "Steve Rogers, ma'am."

"Captain America!" she blurted out, realizing where she knew him from. Everyone stared at her, causing her to blush. "Uh, you looked _really_ familiar, but I couldn't place you. Um, just ignore that. Claire Winters, sir," she said, dropping his hand and moving closer to Natasha, who looked like she about to laugh.

"Oh, shut up," Claire muttered, giving the redhead a small hug. "How've you been?"

"Could be worse, you?"

Something in told Claire she was lying, but played along. "Good."

Nat smiled at her, then turned to the men. "Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe." Claire frowned as the Helicarrier started to shake. She followed the men to near the edge of it, watching the water around them slosh, and Steve asked excitedly,"Is this a submarine?"

"I wouldn't think so," Claire replied.

"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" Banner mused almost jokingly. Just then, black, metal wings appeared from under the water and the little bit of hair that wasn't in Claire's bun started to fly. She just barely heard Banner chuckle,"Oh, no. This is much worse." over the noise and she chuckled.

TA

Claire studied the tunnel that Natasha was leading them down with wide eyes, feeling claustrophobia creep up on her. She wasn't one to hyperventilate or anything over it, but it did give her a sense of uneasiness. She moved closer to the middle of the ailse, accidentally bumping her shoulder into Banner's arm. He looked at her questioning, moving away.

"Sorry," she muttered, looking away. She got the feeling of being examined and glanced up to see Banner watching her.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently. Claire gave a quick nod.

"I'll be better when you get to a more... open environment, Dr. Banner," she explained. "Thanks for the concern, though." He nodded, furrowing his brows.

"You can call me Bruce," he said after a moment. She sent him a glance, starting to smile, and nodded, letting out a breath as they emerged from the tunnel.

Claire studied the room they walked into. It was pretty big, with lots of computers and.. metal. There was a huge window in the front, showing that they had started lifting off the ocean, and a large, triangle table on the platform they were on. The platform led down to a smaller one where four touch screen monitors were standing, along with the director himself, Nick Fury.

Claire rolled her eyes a little at his trenchcoat, but it suited him.

Just in front of him was another platform with three more touch screens and a tall brunette. Claire frowned at the form-fitting outfit the woman had on and hoped she wouldn't have to squeeze into one, especially if it had the high-heeled boots that the woman's did.

Claire moved closer to the table and looked at Banner. He slowly moved towards the other door was before seeing the guards standing there and turning on his heel.

"Employ the cloaking," Claire heard Fury order. She turned to look at him.

"Cloaking enabled. We're gone," the brunette said, turning to Fury and Claire noticed she was rather pretty.

"Good," he nodded, turning to face Steve and Bruce, who were both watching the Helicarrier take off in amazement. To be honest, Claire kinda was, too. "Gentleman," Fury said. Steve walked up to the director, handing him a 10 dollar bill, then walking towards a computer. Claire smiled, confused by his actions, but it slipped off when Fury turned to her.

"Miss Winters, glad to see you could join us," he stated in his usual tone.

"Well, Nick, it's not like you gave me a choice. And sending Phil?" She put a hand on her ribs and bent slightly, making a pained face. "Play my weak points, why don't ya?" She sent him a grin, which he replied to with a smirk, making his way over to Banner, who looking at Claire oddly.

"Doctor, thank you for coming," Fury said, shaking Bruce's hand.

"Thanks for asking nicely," Bruce muttered, his eyes flickering to Claire's before returning to the director. "So, uh... how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear." Claire narrowed her eyes. She had worked for Fury before and knew that he almost always had his own plans.

"Where are you with that?" Bruce asked, taking a few steps back. Fury looked to where Phil was standing on a lower level. "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's conneted to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

Claire blinked twice. "What? Wait, you can do that?" she asked, feeling uncomfortable with that, but also interested. Natasha came up on her right, nodding and telling the men,"That's still not gonna find them in time."

"You have to narrow the field," Bruce spoke up, shrugging out of his jacket. Claire suddenly noticed that his top button was undone and it was slightly unnerving. In an effort to keep from staring, she noticed Steve was standing near the table, obviously frustrated with something. She shot a glance back to the group in front of her, hearing them talk about spectrometers and algorithms, then she moved over to the Cap.

Okay, maybe she could do with those heeled boots that woman had, seeing as the captain loomed over her. She cleared her throat lightly to gain his attention. His big, blue eyes focused on her and he smiled. "Yes, Ms. Winters?" he asked.

"Call me Claire, please. Only Phil calls me that. And, uh.. is everything okay? You were frowning kinda.. harshly." Her voice took on a sort of serious tone when she spoke to Steve without her living legend blushed a bit and he looked down. "Ya know, you can trust me. I mean, I know that we don't really know each other, but we'll be working together and I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I'm not a gossip, so if something's wrong, you can tell me," she finished her speech, sucking in a breath and waiting for his answer.

He seemed to judge her honesty before sighing. "This is gonna sound silly, Ms.- Claire," he corrected. "But... I don't understand they're saying." He gestured to the group behind her. Claire looked behind her, then back to him and started chuckling, only to stop when she saw the Captain's face fall.

"No, no, um, Steve, don't worry. I failed all the sciences except biology and psychology. Everything they're saying is just going over my head." That wasn't _exactly_ the truth, but it seeemed to cheer Steve up a little and honestly, she couldn't imagine how he must feel.

Giving him a small smile, Claire turned around in time to see Nat lead Bruce to wards the hall. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys," she told him, turning and dissappearing from view.

Claire frowned and looked to Fury. "Where they goin'?" she asked, pointing down the hall. She had started feeling almost like a camp counselor, but Bruce was the only one in her cabin.

The Director shot her a glance, saying,"Showing Dr. Banner his new lab. Why?" He quirked his good brow at her.

"No reason," she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "... I'mma go follow 'em," she stated a second later, not even caring about the weirdness of it and making her way down their path. Fury smirked. "Oh, shut up." She turned and jogged into the hall. '_I mean, I should know where it is, right?_' she tried to justify in her mind, Fury and Steve's gazes on her back.

"Ya know." She slowed to a stop at Fury's voice. "You have a workspace set up in the corner. In case we need you close to the doctor."

Claire grinned ruefully and shook her head. "You know me to well, Nick," she called over her shoulder before picking up her speed again.

TA

Claire leaned against the door frame to the laboratory, watching Natasha explain to Bruce how to work the touch screens. "- Then you slide it back and it dissappears," Nat said, clearing the screen and moving it out of the way. Claire let out a low whistle to make herself known. Bruce's head snapped to her as he gave a slight jump, but the Russian didn't seem perturbed as she turned and gave Claire a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. Again.

"Did you see all of that?" she asked, gesturing to equipment.

Claire gave a nod. "Most of it, yeah."

"Good. Then I don't have to explain it again." Natasha turned to Bruce. "I have some.. research to do. I'm leaving you in Claire's small, but capable hands-"

"That's offensive. I'm offended," Claire spoke up in mock serious. Bruce smirked, while Natasha rolled her eyes teasingly. "You're over there," she told Claire, pointing over her shoulder to counter near the touch screen. Sitting on top of it was a stack of files and a small cooler. Claire furrowed her brows and walked over, picking up the top, and smallest, folder and weighing it on her palm.

"What's this?" she asked, putting it back down.

Natasha, who had made her way over to the door, turned and smirked. "Homework."

"Oh... Awesome," Claire deadpanned. Nat rolled her eyes again, smiling, and stolled into the hall. Claire mocked her action, but chuckled and flipped open the file she had picked up a moment ago. It was her's.

She frowned thoughtfully, leaning her hip against the counter. It had a few pictures- some of her in action, some from the front of X-Mansion, one of her making a weird face- and a small paragraph of her history, but all in all, nothing special. Only when she turned the page did she burst out,"What the hell?"

Bruce, who had moved across the room to the window and had been watching Claire questioningly, asked,"What is it?"

"This." Claire ripped out the piece of paper and brought it closer to her face. How had they gotten a list of her current abilities?

_*Ability replication. Adoptive muscle memory. Abnormal strength. Phasing. Telekinesis. Rapid cell regeneration. Underwater breathing.*_

Bruce came up behind her and peered over her shoulder, keeping distance between their bodies, but Claire could still feel the heat rolling off him. She turned her head to him, seeing him mouth the word,"Phasing.", and moved the paper so he could see better. Claire wasn't shy about her mutation, so Bruce knowing didn't bother her, but for some reason, SHIELD having a list of them irritated her.

No, stratch that. It was that SHIELD hadn't asked her what she was capable of. Instead, they found out from somewhere else- probably the X-Mansion. Then again, she probably would've lied. Whatever, she was annoyed.

"Ability replication? What does th- How does that work?" Bruce asked, breaking her thought.

Claire pretended not to feel his breath on her ear and neck area, and grinned at him. "It works like it sounds. It's my 'thing'," she quoted herself from earlier before saying thoughtfully,"It's a good thing I got a handle on it. You should've seen me during my first few years at the School for Gifted Youngsters." She moved the files aside and hopped up to sit on the counter. Bruce moved back and walked slowly over to where he had been, listening to her closely.

"I was popping off new abilities everyday, then it would just flat-line, _then _start over again. Really, it was tiring." Bruce took his glasses out of his jacket pocket and glanced at her. "Start over again?" he asked, tilting his head.

Claire grinned, kind of enjoying how interested Bruce was with her powers, but quickly pushed that thought away when a small blush crept up on her. "Yeah, uh... okay, it's sorta like an odometer in a car, where, when it hits a certain number, it rolls over, meaning that... It's hard to explain, kinda," she muttered, rubbing her chin in thought. "Like, I can keep about.. twenty abilities- give or take- at one time, but if it goes over, they all reset. It sucked when I was younger, but I've learned how to handle it."

Bruce furrowed his brows and she could see the wheels turning in his head. "Nothing ever.. happened to anyone when that happened, did it?" he asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"You mean, did it ever accidently kill someone? No, it was more of an internal thing... Oh, except for that one time- the first time, I might add- where it threatened to flatten West Chester." Claire shrugged, keeping her face even, and hopped off her perch. She slipped the paper back into the file and pulled the cooler over to her.

She was kind of wary to open it- because, seriously, it was a cooler sitting with her homework. From SHIELD- but she cracked the lid and pulled her arm back. When a weird smell or baby alien hand _didn't_ come from it, she quickly pushed the lid off and peeked inside.

It had matbe six foil packets, three white things with silver lids that looked like blank yogurt cups, two more- slightly bigger- foil packets, and about eight Nutri-Grain bars, along with two spoons. Claire let out a little laugh and picked up a Nutri bar, ripping open the wrapper, then she put the lid back on the cooler.

"What is it?" Bruce asked from his workspace.

"Food," she replied cheerfully, taking a bite before groaning. "Dammit. Fury's trying to keep me on task."

Bruce chuckled softly. "What do you mean?"

"I was gonna go find the kitchen or something. Both for, ya know, food, but also to keep from doing, well, my work. Bet this is why Nat kept smirking." She frowned at the folders before sticking the rest of the bar in her mouth and holding it gently between her teeth, only biting down enough to hold it. Reaching out slowly, she picked up the thick stack of folders, then balancing them on her arm so she could pick up the cooler.

Bruce took a few steps forward, taking off his glasses and holding out his hand to stop her. "Whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" he asked, clearly confused.

Claire frowned, not sure how to talk around the food in her mouth, but gave it a shot. "Goha gho- Crap," she muttered as the bar broke and fell on the floor. She rolled her eyes at herself, saying"I'll clean that up later. Anyway, I was gonna go down there-" She nodded her head to the window behind Bruce, to the table they saw a fifteen minutes ago. "- So I wouldn't bother you."

Bruce furrowed his brows. "Okay?" He didn't think her reading in the corner would be very loud or in the way. In fact, she was sort of interesting.

She must have seen the confusion on his face, because she explained,"I spread out. A lot. I probably take up more room than I should when I study." Her voice turned thoughtful and Bruce shook his head, smirking.

"Uh, do you need help, then?" he asked, knowing that if she tried to open the door, all her things would fall.

"No, you don't have to," she replied, shaking her head and trying to wave off his offer.

"No, I don't mind." He moved forward and hesitantly took half of the pile of folders and the cooler. He tensed the tiniest bit when his hand touched her's. It wasn't Claire, but he had shied away from touching- with the exception of his patients- since the other guy had taken up residence inside him.

He glanced up at her, only to flush a little when he saw her watching him, no doubt that she had seen his reaction.

"Sorry," Bruce muttered.

"No, don't worry. Personal space. I respect that," Claire replied, giving him a good-natured smirk. Bruce rolled his lips together before giving her a small smile. "Let's go." Claire nodded to the door, moving to hold it open.

"Thanks," Bruce said.

"No problem. Now... can I ask you a question?"

TATATATATA

**Was all of that believable? W****as Bruce in character?** And the stuff with the Cap? I just think that if can't be friends with Steve, you don't have soul. Also, thank you:

**RandomGirl112233: I'm glad you like it and hope you keep reading.**

**anon: Thank you!**

**aaroniteXkryptonite: Thanks!**

**Sog: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.**

**Sam0728: Thank you.**

**Robin 3: Haha, thanks.**

**Strange. Laughter: When I saw your review, I squealed. On the couch. My sister looked at me funny, so thank you!**

**Keep in mind that if you read this, I love you. Bye.**


	3. Chapter 3

**As you all know now, I'm the worst at updating when I say I will. But it's a new chapter, so Taa-Daa! Enjoy**

**TATATATA**

Bruce's eyes slid over her's. "What?"

Claire chuckled. "Nothing too interesting. Just, how old are you? If you don't mind," she added quickly, guessing late thirtys and side-stepping a small group of SHIELD agents.

"I think that'll be in my SHIELD file," he answered without answering. Claire frowned, narrowing her eyes some. "Why? How old are you?.. If that's alright," he asked, following her down the hall to the computer room.

"Twenty eight," she replied automatically. "Twenty nine in February." She looked up to see him nod thoughtfully as they stepped into the large area. Bruce led the way over to the triangle table and set her stuff down on the end under his window, turning to her.

"Thanks, Bruce," she said, setting her stuff down with the rest. He nodded, opening his mouth, then closing it before finally asking,"Do you need anything else?"

Claire rolled her lips together, shaking her head. "No, this is it, thanks."

Bruce nodded, standing there for a second longer before heading back to his lab. Claire's head tipped to the side a little- because she might have been watching him walk- then realized what she was doing and quickly turned to her work. She pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling her papers to her and tried to ignore the blush creeping up her neck.

Feeling eyes on her, Claire glanced up, making eye-contact with Natasha. The redhead raised her eyebrows and walked over, sitting down next to Claire. "What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?" Claire asked innocently.

Nat sent her a look."It seemed like you were checking out Dr. Banner."

Claire rolled her eyes. "That's crazy," she muttered, flipping open one of her files. It was Steve's. She noticed Nat open her mouth to reply, so she quickly asked the question that had been on her mind since she arrived. "Where's Clint? He normally would've seen me by now.. Is he hiding in the vents?" she joked before looking up to see the mirth drain from Natasha's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked, leaning forward. Nat, being the person she was, didn't let her emotions play out on her face, but Claire had gotten used to trying to read her and could tell it hurt her to say," They didn't tell you? Barton was one of the agents Loki took."

Claire's mouth dropped open and she furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry, Natasha." Anger flared through her as she tried to keep her face even. Though, she was never as good as her friend and Nat smirked as she stood.

"Don't worry about it. That's why we're here right?" she said, patting Claire's shoulder and walking around her, moving down the hall. Claire gave a sharp nod, running a hand down her face and letting out a sigh through her nose. Claire was one of those people who would take whatever you throw at her- weather she should or not- but threaten her friends or family and she wouldn't blink while throwing you in a deep frier.

She put her hands on her temples and decided to pour over her homework, picking up Captain America's file and a foil packet.

TA

Claire finished her work- and ate most of her food- and was listening to her iPod as she wandered around the carrier. She was coming back from getting a bowl of grapes from the kitchen... and didn't recognize when she was, which was freaking her out. She started taking very deep breathes and clenching her fists. '_Damn, I must've left out the wrong door,_' she cursed herself, just as the hallway started looking familier.

She sighed, relieved, and poked her head into Bruce's lab, pulling a earbud out and biting a grape in half. Bruce looked up from the paper he was studying and smiled at her from behind his glasses, accidently making her stomach flip. "Hey," she muttered, giving a small wave. "Whatcha doing?"

"Uh, just looking over everything SHIELD has on the Tesseract," He gestured to the papers. Claire deflated.

"Oh. I'll come back later." She ducked out, about to head back to the computer room, when Bruce said hesitantly,"No, uh, don't go." Claire looked up to see him worrying the leg of his glasses and watching her. "I mean, you don't have to," he corrected. "I don't mind."

"Thanks," Claire smiled, moving to her corner and putting the few grapes she had left on the counter. "What?" she asked, noticing Bruce eyeing them.

"Hungry?" he asked, raising his brows.

"Yeah. I ate all the food in the cooler," she popped another grape in her mouth. "Well, except these nasty-"

"What?" he interrupted, his eyes widened. "All of it?"

Claire ducked her head. "Yes. Was I not supposed to?" Bruce chuckled and Claire grinned again, pulling out her iPod and pausing it before putting the headphones around her neck. "So, I finished my homework," she said, hopping up on her counter.

"Yeah, I saw," Bruce nodded to the window behind him. "Well, I mean, I was watching- er, I noticed you pack up your things." He blushed some and focused on straightening the papers in front of him. What had made him nearly say he had seen her walk- sometimes, absent mindly dancing to her music- around the table while she read the file in her hands?

Maybe it was because she was the first person to come up here in the two hours since Agent Coulson dropped of the information about the Cube. Which begged the question, "What are you doing up here, anyway?" he asked, his eyes flickering up to her's. She shrugged.

"Nat's wandered off and Phil's following Steve around like a puppy, which I don't blame him for... and I don't know, I just kinda wanted to get away from the noise downstairs.. then I got lost on the way up." Bruce laughed a little and Claire grinned for a second before it slid off and her face was serious for a moment. He noticed it made her look older than she was and little more mature than the smiling, awkward woman from earlier.

Bruce frowned. "Is everything okay?"

Claire looked up at the doctor. No, she wasn't okay. One of the reasons she had left SHIELD was the fact that she got homesick easily. Tonight she would've been at her sister's house, watching movies and eating pizza with her brother-in-law, and the Helicarrier- with both quiet agents and all the metal- wasn't really the most comfortable place in the world.

"Yeah, totally fine. Just feeling a little weird, is all," she answered, looking up into Bruce's brown eyes and giving him a smile. '_Ya know, he really is attractive,_' a random thought said.

"It's probably the high altitude throwing you off," he replied, slipping into a doctor voice. "Do you get air sick easily?" He started rifling through his doctor bag as Claire shook her head.

"Not that I know of," she muttered, watching him pull out a small patch.

"Well, if it _is _ Air sickness, this should help." Bruce walked over to her and put the patch down before rolling up her half sleave. "What are you doing?" Claire asked, tilting her head, curious and slightly confused. Bruce looked up at her, relizing how close their faces were and his hands stilling on her elbow. He glanced down at her arm. "Oh, I'm sorry," he dropped his hands and stepped back. "I should have asked."

"I- don't worry about it," Claire said, rolling it up all the way. She held her exposed bicep out and waited. Bruce stepped up and glanced at her before taking a light grip on the crook of her elbow. He picked up the patch and pressed it into her arm. "There," he murmured, instantly rolling her sleave back down. "That should help."

Claire watched him, tilting her head to the side, before whispering,"Thank you."

"What?" he asked, stepping back and folding his arms over his chest, though his voice was merely curious. Claire cleared her throat and hopped down, suddenly feeling warm. "Thanks," she said, awkwardly.

He nodded. "It's my job," he replied quietly. Claire rubbed the back of her neck and said,"So, I'm kinda hungry.."

A small dimple appeared between Bruce's eyebrows for a second before he started laughing. Claire jumped before slowing cracking a grin. "What?" she asked.

"How much have you eaten in the last hour alone?" he replied.

"Oh, shut up! I have a fast metabolism, "Claire responded truthfully- being a mutant made her burn off clories faster-, surpressing a smile and crossing her arms. Bruce laughed again before calming down and giving a small smile. "Thanks. I haven't laughed like that in a long time," he said sheepishly.

Claire smirked before saying,"Well, I wasn't kidding. I'm gonna go find something to eat. I'll see you later, Bruce." She gave a small wave and dissappeared down the hall.

TA

Claire made it back to the computer room and was wandering through the aisles, looking at a few files on the computer and accidently almost making some guy playing a game nearly piss himself, but Claire didn't know why he was worried. He closed it down so fast, she didn't even see what he was playing.

"-I mean, if you don't mind," Phil said, catching Claire attention.

"No, no, it's fine," Steve assured him. A shy, fangirly smile flashed on Phil's face before he said matter-of-factly,"It's a vintage set," Aww, he was talking about his trading cards,"Near mint slight foxing around the edges, but.." He was interuppted by the agent she had just walked. He was running the facial recognition software and suddenly said,"We got a hit. Sixty seven percent match. Wait, cross match, seventy nine percent."

"Location?" Phil asked, crossing his arms.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse." Claire leaned around the agent to see Loki, dressed rather nicely, on the screen. "He's not exactly hiding," the agent commented. Claire glanced over at the two men.

"Winters, Captain," Fury stated, "You're up."

**TATATATA**

**How was it? Is Natasha OOC? I know it's been forever and I'm so sorry, but I think I'll be updating more often. And I hope you're all still reading. Also, who's going to see the Avengers this weekend?**

**Thank you for reviewing,**

**SophiaStark: you're so weird**

**violet**** eyed dreamer: Thank you so much! I hope a managed adorable!Bruce**

**aaronitexkryptonite: I'm glad, thank you!**

**Maddie Ross: Thank you, I'm glad you like it**

**Lift the Wings: Thank you, it means a lot**

**England101: Hey, good to see you here. And I'm so glad you like the story!**

**Garideth: Thank you so much, I was very happy to see you here and liking it!**

**RandomGirl112233: Thank you very much! **

**The Yoshinator: Thank you, I'm so I was gone so long**

**Again, I should be updating more, so stay tuned, and if you're still here, I love you. Bye**


	4. Chapter 4

**Check me the hell out! Updating so soon. I have to be quick though because my brother's a snoop.**

**TATATATA**

The last twenty minutes had been a flurry of activity. After Fury's words, Claire was rushed to one of the lower levels and put into a custom suit she didn't know she had.

It was black and a little too form-fitting for her taste, but they let her keep her converse on, so she didn't whine too much. But- even though the second she was zipped up, she was being hustled to the air carriers- she hooked her finger under her jacket and slipped it on.

She lost her way in the crowd, feeling her eyes widen and claustrophobia making her chest tight, but a hand appearing on her elbow kept her from moving. She looked up to see who had her. And up, making eye contact with Steve. Again, she felt tiny next to him.

She furrowed her brows and glanced down, stifling a laugh when she saw he was in his Captain America suit which was tighter than her's. Not able to keep in _all_ the snark, she asked,"Comfy, Steve?"

He gave her a 'Are you kidding me?' look and replied,"It's a little tighter than what I'm used to." Claire smirked. "If you're ready, we're over here," Steve said, leading her over to one of the many air carriers. Claire noticed Natasha was one of the pilots as the redhead turned and gave them a smile. "Ready?"

Claire was halfway through nodding when she paused. She hadn't told Bruce 'bye', which didn't really matter and shouldn't have bothered her, so she dismissed it and took a seat. After buckling in, she relaxed as best she could and said,"Ready."

Steve did the same and the carrier jerked as they started moving.

TA

The intercom in Bruce's lab beeped before saying,"Air carrier 1017 is moving out. Agents Romanoff, Evans, Rogers, and Winters departing. Clear take off strip. Repeat, clear take off strip." Bruce looked up, thinking,'_Agent Winters? Claire?_'

He instinctively looked out the window behind him, expecting to see her down there milling around, but she wasn't. He frowned before walking to the door and waiting for someone who didn't looklike a trainee to pass by. That person was Agent Coulson.

"Hey," Bruce called hesitantly. The agent looked over and stopped walking.

"Dr. Banner," he replied, giving a light smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Uh," Bruce was a bit embarrassed asking this, but went on,"Did Claire- er, Miss Winters-"

"Yes, Claire's on the carrier flying out," Coulson cut him off. Bruce blinked. "Oh. Okay." He was a little confused by how Coulson knew what he meant, but he thanked him anyway and went back to the safety of his lab.

TA

Claire caught the small, bouncy ball Agent Evans apparently kept for good luck. He had seen her boredom and let her play with it for the ride, so she'd been bouncing it on the wall across from her. So far she hadn't missed, using her muscle memory.

"Here we go," Natasha muttered, breaking Claire's concentration, making her head snap up and the rubber ball hit her cheek. That didn't bother her, though, since her stomach started twisting. While she knew it was coming, the thought of going against Loki worried her. "Already?" she asked.

"Yep," Nat said, flipping a couple switches. Claire stood and checked the window, staring at the ground.

There were a lot of people, all dressed very nicely, running around and probably screaming. They seemed to be avoid what looked like statues with weird horned helmets. Loki.. awesome. '_Why did I agree to this?_' she questioned her sanity. Claire frowned as they all suddenly running and.. kneeled?

"What are they doing?" Steve asked, looking over her shoulder. Claire shrugged,"Dunno."

"Guys, get ready," Natasha told them. Claire nodded and moved to the back and waiting for Steve to stand next to her. Nat lowered the back and said,"Wait for my signal." She pulled the carrier around so that they were facing the crowd. Claire looked down and saw an older man standing above the kneeling crowd.

"Captain," Nat instructed. Claire backed up, giving Steve the room for the running jump he took out of the back. She watched his body fly down to the crowd, landing and moving his shield in time to protect the old man from a blast from Loki's scepter.

"Claire, go," Natasha told her, glancing back at her. Claire nodded, kinda worried about weather or not she _wouldn't _break her leg landing, but she followed Steve's movements and ran out the back.

Even for someone who could fly, she never got used to the incredible feeling of moving throught the air. It ended quickly, though, and she tucked herself into a ball, reminding herself of bowling, as she hit the ground and literally rolled into Loki's legs.

That knocked him off balance long enough for Claire to stand and for Steve to recover from his last hit.

"Shit," Claire muttered to herself, seeing Loki tower over her. He whipped around to see what hit him, smirking. "The mutant. An outsider among her own race."

"Sorry, I thought that was you," she replied, throwing her weight into a punch aimed for him. it threw him back, making him hit the stairs, but he recovered, smacking Claire's cheeck with butt end of his scepter. It cut her face and she'd be insane to think it wouldn't bruise a normal person, but the force of it took her off guard.

She put a hand on her face and already felt the skin begin to knit back together as Steve punched Loki, then whacked him with his shield. Claire saw something flash in Loki's palm when he was thrown past her. A knife.

Her eyes widen and she turned, sprinting towards Steve, when she felt a flash of pain above the back of her neck. All she could think was '_Shit_.' as her body lost feeling and her vision went black.

TA

Steve saw Claire start running to him when Loki stood and flung his arm, something silver and sharp flashing in the air. It struck Claire immediately, making her eyes widen right before she fell to the ground.

Loki grinned devilishly before Agent Romanoff flew the air carrier around, pointing the machine gun attached at him. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," her voice rang out over the plaza. Loki frowned and flew at Steve instead, knocking him over the head and forcing him to his knees. "Kneel!"

Steve shot a glance at Claire, who still hadn't moved since Loki hit her. "Not today!" he shouted back, flipping around and striking Loki with his foot.

Loki fell, hitting the stairs and stilling for a moment, then trying to sit up, only to blasted back again. Steve looked back to see what had hit him, when Iron Man landed next to him, holding him palms up at Loki, who sat up slowly. "Make your move, Reindeer Games," the voice of Tony Stark came through the face of his suit. Loki put his hands up, all the gold armor on his get up shimmering away. "Good move," Stark said, putting his hands down.

"Mr. Stark," Steve greeted officially.

"Captain." Stark walked forward and lifted Loki. Steve turned and jogged over to where Claire still hadn't moved, rolling her over, and his eyes widened.

Under Claire's nose, blood had leaked out and dripped on to her lips, her cheek was bruised and cut, and her eyes were open, but dull and staring at nothing. He hastily checked to see if she was at all while pressing his fingers to where her pulse should have been and sighed. She was dead.

TA

After the Captain jumped out after Loki, Thor,and Stark, Natasha requested another aircraft to come pick up Claire and take her back to the Helicarrier. Once there, she was taken to the medical bay, where Phil was waiting comfortably for both her and a doctor.

He looked down at her laying on one of the beds close to the door. Her eyes had been closed and her face cleaned, along with her head turned to the side, so if you didn't look too hard, she could have been sleeping.

Well, he knew from long airplane and car rides that she usually slept in some contorted position, but still.

Suddenly the door slid open behind him. Phil turned around to see a worried Dr. Banner standing in the door and staring at Claire. "Wha-what happened?" he mumbled.

"Loki," Phil responded calmly. Bruce stared at him.

From what he knew, Agent Coulson and Claire had been close, so for him to be standing there very calm with an almost 'Oh you' air to him struck Bruce as weird.

Coulson seemed to notice how he was feeling and said,"Never count her out, even if she's down. Claire's a very.. unique individual." The agent walked around him, walking out the still open door.

Bruce blinked and stared at the door, not understnding what Coulson meant, which didn't help calm the other guy, who was stirring more than a little. He slowly turned back to Claire, running a hand down his face. Bruce felt the other guy start to wake at the sight of her. '_Calm. Calm,_' he thought, slowly making his way to her and taking deep breaths.

He noted the bruised and cut cheek, a scuff on her forehead, and that her nose was maybe broken. Bruce took a shaky breath, still fighting to stay in control, and reached out, lightly petting the back of her head once. He was about to pull away when he something weird... and metal.

The other guy calmed for a second and Bruce went to the other side of the bed, running his fingers through Claire's hair, placing a hand on her shoulder and taking a grip of the metal thing, pulling it out. It squelched, but came out easily.

He stared at the thing in his hand, trying to decide if it was a knife or not, and shaking a little. Loki had done this deliberately, he must've. It wasn't just that she had taken too many hits or that her body gave out.

The knife fell to the floor, bouncing a bit, as Bruce tried to control himself. Not really paying attention to what he was doing, he had to the door, not sure where he was going, he heard something that made his stomach jump.

Coughing and a raspy voice mutter,"Christ on a bike..."

**TATATATA**

**So the fight was prob'ly cheesy and short, but it wasn't that long in the movie. Also the scene with Bruce and dead!Claire happened while the others are performing Shakespeare in the Park. I hoped you enjoyed, tell me what you think, and know that I loved my reviewer/followers, but I have to go quickly, bye.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Read the note at the bottom**

**TATATATA**

Claire grimaced, leaning up and clutching the back of her head. '_I don't think there's a weirder feeling than this,_' she noted, feeling her skin knit back together and the bruises on her body start to fade.

Only when she sat up did she notice Bruce gaping at her from the door. She gave a weak wave, not yet up to par, and he blinked, walking slowly to her. Claire frowned when she noticed him shaking and she threw her legs over the side off her bed.

"Ho-how are you-"

"Regeneration... it was on the list, "she muttered, feeling embarrassed by the way he was staring at her. Quickly, she changed the subject. "Why are you shaking?" she asked, reaching out and touching his arm.

"Uh, well, I thought you were... dead," he said as if it explained everything, though his voice was almost shocked.

_'He was grieving me. That shouldn't be a good thing.'_ she thought, scolded the happily surprised part of her mind. '_There has to be something wrong with me.'_ Her mental commentary was interrupted by Bruce's hands on her shoulders.

"I can't believe it," he muttered, his warm breath washing over her cheek as he examined it. Claire's eyes flickered up, noticing how close Bruce actually was. His mouth was slightly open and close to her nose. Just a small tilt up and... _What am I doing?_ She blinked, realizing what she was about to do. '_But would it be that bad?'_

Bruce stepped back, noticing just how close he had gotten to Claire. He glanced at the women in front of him, who had an odd look on her face.

Figuring that it had to do with the fact that she died a moment ago, he moved to give her move to stand. She blinked slowly and lowered her feet to the floor, stumbling before straightening and blushing.

Bruce gave a small smile realizing how much he would've missed if she'd died, instantly frowning once he had that thought.' _You shouldn't get attached,_' he reminded himself.

"Well... I should probably go tell everyone the good news, "Claire said, looking at him before her eyes dropped to the floor. She didn't move.

Bruce frowned, "What's wrong?"

Claire rubbed the back of her neck and looked up before stepping close to him. "Uh, nothing. I…just."

Bruce's eyes widened as Claire slowly- testing his reaction- leaned up and tilted her head to the left. He didn't move, not stopping her, and let Claire cautiously press her lips to his. Bruce knew he should've stopped her, should've gripped her shoulders and pushed her away, but instead he leaned into the kiss, the small show of human compassion and the feel of her small body so close pulling him in. Claire seemed surprised but her eyes fluttered close and she lightly placed her hand on the top of his arm.

That small contact was enough to spike his heart rate, instinctively causing him to pull back and remind himself why this was a _horrid_ idea.

Claire felt Bruce break the kiss, making her stumble since she had been leaning forward. She caught herself on the edge on the bed and glanced up, scolding herself. Of course she shouldn't have kissed him! If she accidently unleashed the Hulk, anyone who got hurt would be her responsibility.

Still… he was a really good kisser.

He was also currently staring at her, his eyes wide and wild, making her feel even guiltier.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Bruce blinked and felt a bit bad. He was just as much at fault as she was in his mind. But that didn't mean it was a good decision. "Don't worry about it," he replied. "Uh, just… we shouldn't let it happen again." Claire nodded, feeling a little bit rejected, but she squared her shoulders and let him pass by her. He slowly walked out the door, leaving her to cuss herself out.

TA

After nearly giving the head medic a heart attack and getting a check over, Claire was allowed to go back to the computer room.

"Where's Fury?" she asked, looking around and surprising the men near the table. Bruce and Steve looked at her, the latter making a noise of shock, while Natasha keep her eyes on the small screen in front of her.

"Miss Claire," Steve muttered, his brow furrowed. Claire sheepishly smiled at him. "How are you…?" he trailed off.

Claire opened her mouth but Bruce spoke first. "Claire has the same genetic ability you do. She can regenerate." Steve nodded, his face clearing of confusion.

"It's starting," Natasha said, at the same time as Agent Hill escorted in a… giant.

He was tall with a leather vest and pants and huge corded muscles. Long blonde hair brushed his shoulders and the emblems on his vest made Claire give a small gasp. While in mythology Loki takes many forms, the description of Thor was pretty basic.

Bruce glanced at her, raising an eyebrow at her noise. She sat down near the head of the tale and asked quietly, "What exactly did I miss?" Bruce mouth twitched up as the screens that weren't in use suddenly lit up.

Claire looked down at the one in front of her and saw Loki in a small glass container. She felt someone watching from her shoulder and realized that Bruce was leaning over her, his breath brushing her neck. Fury's voice came out of the screen.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass," Fury pushed something off-screen and the floor under the container disappeared, sunlight and wind rushing into the area. Claire's eyes widened. _'Is that safe?'_ she wondered briefly, thinking about the cabin pressure. "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap," Fury's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "You see how that works? Ant. Boot."

Loki laughed lightly. "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me," he taunted.

"Built for something stronger than you," the director replied coolly.

"Oh, I've heard," Loki said, amusement coloring his voice as he turned and stared into the camera. Claire stiffened, an odd mixed anger at both Loki and SHIELD filling her. "The mindless beast, make play it's still a man." Claire turned her head, trying and failing to glance sneakily at Bruce.

He was smirking- which only grew when he noticed her looking- but his arms were crossed and his back stiff, telling how tense he was.

"How desperate are you?" Loki's voice called her back to the monitor. "You call on these lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war," Fury started to count off; "You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk of peace and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate," he leveled. "You might not be glad you did."

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Oh, it _burns_ you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and to be reminded what real power is," Loki finished, seeming proud of his little speech, but Fury deadpanned, "Yeah, well, let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something."

A surprised snort left Claire's mouth as Fury walked out and the screens went black. She sat up, her hair accidently brushing Bruce's folded arms, and she heard him chuckle. "He really grows on you, doesn't he? "Claire glanced at Bruce to see him smirking.

Steve on the other hand was very serious. "Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" he asked, turning to the demi-god.

"He has an army called the Chitauri that are not of Asgard nor of any world known," Thor told them, obviously used to tactic meetings. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him Earth. Return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Claire didn't like how sure he sounded that Loki would win. "An army of aliens?" she asked, frowning. Thor nodded.

"So, he's building another portal," Bruce said thoughtfully. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Thor raised his eyebrows. "Selvig?"

"He's an astrophysicist," Bruce informed him.

"He's a friend."

Claire raised a brow but Steve spoke before she could. "I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce replied. "That guy's brain is a bag of cats, you could smell crazy on him." Claire stifled a laugh, but a chuckle slipped through.

"Take care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he's is of Asgard, and he is my brother." Claire noticed how Thor spoke of Loki and realized how much he still cared for the man in the cage.

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha deadpanned.

"He's adopted."

**TATATATA**

**So I'm sorry it took so long. I took a break from writing for two months then my mom went into the hospital but she's home now so I could relax and write this. Thank you for staying with me while I finish and I love you, bye.**


End file.
